Jared has his 3rd best career jump with a 22’8 final attempt for 2nd behind cross town rival Anthony DeNitto, who set a meet record with a 24′ 5.5″ jump. Jared now ranks 2nd in Newton and 3rd in New England :-).
Jared contributed 16 points, making him the 2nd highest scorer in the meet on the boy’s side behind Anthony.
In the early morning hours, Jared was featured for a 2nd week in the month on Globe High School page:
Jared wrapped up his outdoor Bay State Conference track career earning his first individual league title with a 1st-round League Record 22′ 9.5″ long jump along with two relay silvers (4×1 video, 4×4 video, photos, milesplit slideshow, tab article). In the 4x100m he split a personal best 9.98 for 100m anchor leg. He could stay ahead of Bolt for almost 100m if he just had a running start across the the start line :-).
He now hold the indoor and outdoor LJ records for the conference. In his 25 conference dual meets over the last four years he battled through injury to pile up 316.5 points and 56 1st-place performances helping the Tigers to a 24-1 record and 3 league titles.
He was in 3rd place after a respectable 21’8″ opener and a series that included two slight fouls. On his last jump he adjusted his mark to adapt to the varying tail wind and got right on the board. He also anchored the 4x100m to a win holding off Smith Charles, the 3rd fastest freshman in the country indoors (Smith won 100m in 10.90). This was an improvement of 9″ over his 22′ 3″ jump on Wednesday at Newton North and a foot over his 22′ “flat-pit” PR from indoors. This pit was perfectly flat but he did have a bit of an aiding tailwind.
The mark qualifies him for a Championship level entry to the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro on June 18th.
Excerpts from Globe and Herald below.
Boston Globe:
Newton North senior Jared Prior knows all too well how to deal with adversity.
Coming off injury-plagued years the past two outdoor seasons, the Bowdoin College-bound Prior proved Saturday during the 41st annual boys’ MSTCA Invitational at BC High why he is still one of the top track athletes in the state.
Prior established a state outdoor season best in the long jump with his mark of 23 feet, ¾ inch, which topped second place by more than a foot.
“I came into this event feeling more in control of my body and my long jump approach than I have since my freshman year,†Prior said. “That last jump was really meaningful for me just to know what I am capable of, or at least finally see that I’m not just making it up when I think I can produce far jumps.â€
During the indoor season, Prior said he had worked a lot on his rehabilitation and flexibility to build his strength.
Prior was also the anchor for the 4 x 100-meter relay team (43.51 seconds), which edged Milton (43.53), and was awarded one of the outstanding athlete of the meet plaques.
Boston Herald:
Prior rounded out the elite trio of Tigers with a Best in Field honor after he placed first in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet and three-quarters of an inch and then ran the final leg of the 4×100-meter relay to give the Tigers a narrow win over Milton.
“I was very surprised with 23 feet, but also very happy,†Prior said. “I’ve been wanting this for four years. So, of course, to get an award, to get the win and to get the mark, it all means a lot to me.â€
Article ran at top of Globe online high school section (originally with headline “Newton Jorth”)
Elon defended their CAA Outdoor Track Championship Saturday May 7th at Elon (news). Kayla concluded her track and field career with a season’s best 33′ 9″ triple jump. Photo galleries: highlights and of Kayla.
